JVC's Crystallized Bling Camcorder - Or Is It?

I recently saw on CrunchGear this camcorder from JVC, which naturally caught my eye!

OK, but there's definitely something funny here: that picture is clearly photoshopped. Take a close look at it, and it's pretty obvious.

There's no way this is an actual shot of a blinged camcorder. So is this for real or what?

Go to the original source website and you can see the original camcorder photo and the crystal image that got superimposed.

This would be a cool camera to have though. I'm sure folks like GlitterRing could do something like this for your camcorder if you just gotta have the sparkle while you're shooting video.

New Meaning to "Liquid Crystals"

For US $34.95 not including any taxes and shipping you can now have a Swarovski crystal studded frosted bottle of water from the folks at Bling H2O.


According to the producers of this new eau, it "is strategically positioned to target the expanding super-luxury consumer market. It's couture water that makes an announcement like a Rolls Royce Phantom." So how's the water? Drawn from Roman wells? Snow melt off the Swiss Alps? Nope. According to their website, it's "bottled at the source in Dandridge, Tennessee."


Source

The Best Phone Bling Ever

We have a winner in the "most expensive phone bling" category. Take a look at this close-up. Can you guess what this is?



If you guessed "solid gold phone covered with custom cut diamonds" you'd be right. It's worth a cool $1.2 million, but wait, there's more. That includes a custom insurance policy. As reported by CNN, a Russian businessman bought this beauty. The Russians are serious about their bling!

I'll have to stick with Swarovski.

Cauterize? No Thanks, Crystallize.

With my crystal fascination, you'd think nothing would surprise me anymore. But European designer Fabien Seibert is hawking 3-pack and 10-pack Swarovski crystal studded band-aids for 10 and 27 Euros, respectively.



Yes, you heard right, band-aids. I'm going to go and try this out with my hotfix crystals now...

How To Get Into Jessica Alba's Pants!

Easy. Buy the privilege on eBay!

The stars are blinging jeans for charity. J & Company will auction the crystal-studded jeans on eBay (eBay ID: blingyourblues) starting August 28th.

My favorite? Alicia Keys and her keyboard jeans. I think she could have made one little improvement: if the keyboard were below the knee, she could cross her legs and air play.



Here's the list of celebrities and when their jeans come up for auction. Get 'em on eBay while you can, if you can afford it!

August 28 CHARLIZE THERON ALICIA KEYS MENA SUVARI JOHN MELLENCAMP ADRIAN GRENIER BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD HOWARD DOROUGH September 3 JESSICA ALBA SHARON STONE THE CAST OF THE OC CHRIS KNIGHT ADRIANNE CURRY BEVERLY MITCHELL SLIGHTLY STOOPID (BAND) KRISTIN CAVALLARI September 8 NIA VARDALOS SUMMER BALTZER EVA LONGORIA TONY PARKER KRISTEN BELL JEREMY JACKSON FISHBONE (BAND) DENNIS RODMAN

September 13 CHRISTINA MILIAN BEN AFFLECK JON TENNEY JENNIFER GARNER JOSE REYES (N.Y. METS) BRANDE RODERICK MARCIA CROSS BACK STREET BOYS September 18 SOPHIA BUSH JONATHAN SILVERMAN/JENNIFER FINNIGAN KIRSTEN DUNST SETH GABEL BOBBY ABREU (N.Y. YANKEES) KELLY RIPA

Sing with Bling

You knew it had to happen, right? A company called CrystalRoc will start to show off their crystal-studded high-end audio products in October, for end-of-year availability. Take a look at this turntable:



What will they bling next?

Source: Gadget Candy.

Getting Your Bling

You've seen those fabulous Swarovski-studded phones, and think you might want one for yourself?



If you're a bling fanatic or aspiring to be one, one of the first questions to ask yourself is: how???

I've been-there-done-that and asked some of my "crystal-endowed" friends too. So I thought I'd share what I know. The more $$, the more expensive the option, but you'll usually also get higher quality or more service:

1. Stickers $

   You've probably seen it in stores like Best Buy and Target. They come in sheets with crystals on them. You just buy, peel it off and stick it on your phone or iPod or whatever. Here's one on Amazon and, of course, these guys.
   
   Pros: Inexpensive, easy, quick, variety of designs, not permanent
   
   Cons: Honestly, this is lame. These are not Swarovski crystals, usually they're not crystal glass at all, but plastic. It's like a fake tattoo: convenient, cheap, impermanent and obviously fake.
   




2. DIY Kits $$

   There are actually lots of these out there, on eBay and online stores. Just search for it in your favorite search engine. Shop around, there are lots of kits places: eBay, BlingDiva, CrystalIcing, LetsCrystalIt and lots more. The one I've personally had good experiences with is GlitterRing, they have a nice crystal color-picker, use a non-toxic glue, ship for free, great prices. Hey guys, how about some free crystals for the plug huh? *grin*
   
   DIY kits usually come with some kind of adhesive, some kind of applicator tool because those pesky crystals are small, instructions and of course the crystals. You're mainly paying for the crystals.
   
   Free tip: Make sure you're getting genuine Swarovski crystals. Beware of deals that look too good to be true, especially on eBay.
   
   Pros: Make your own design, color flexibility, can be fun, can have excellent results if you're patient and go nice-n-slow
   
   Cons: Make your own design (we're not all artists!), time-consuming, gluing can get messy, you might mess up




3. Bulk Crystals $$$

   
   I don't know anyone who's actually done this, but it's possible: instead of buying a kit, go out there and get what you need yourself: crystals, glue, applicator. This option may work better if you have used a kit before. I gave this option three dollar signs because in the end I think you will pay more and probably spend more time to get the same results.
   
   Here's why: let's say you've got a 3-color design in mind. For a normal sized phone you'll need a few hundred of each color at least. To get a price-break from a bead or crystal supplier, you need to buy at least one 10-gross Swarovski package (1440 crystals: $50-70 per package). But for three colors, that means you're buying 4320 crystals, much more than you need. You still need to run out to your local crafts store and find a good crystal glue. Do not use super glue. Plus most kits come with smaller crystals to fill in gaps. So you'll either have to buy those smaller crystals in quantity too, or live with the gaps.
   
   Pros: More crystals to work with, cheaper-per-crystal but not for the project, guaranteed Swarovski,
   
   Cons: Usually more expensive and time-consuming in the end, like buying anything in bulk, you'll pay more, have fewer options and get more than you probably need
   




4. Let The Pros Do It $$$$

   Now we're talking Paris Hilton, and by far the priciest option, this can easily cost more than your phone itself. Though people seem to get good prices on eBay for their used blinged phones. Best thing about this option is the quality work and peace-of-mind if you pick a reputable provider. The biggest ones seem to be NYC Peach, CrystalIcing and GlitterRing. I'm sure there are other good ones, maybe I just don't know about them; do a search. My advice, shop around a lot. Don't just look at price, send them emails or call them. They should get back to you promptly and professionally. Ask them about specific colors and designs you want. Some of the best phones I've seen are done by these pros.
   
   Pros: Done by pros, usually full-flexibility in crystal sizes, colors, designs
   
   Cons: You have to live without your phone for a few days (I know, this sucks)
   

There you have it. I left out one of the best and hardest parts of all this: picking your colors and figuring out a design. Look at everyone's photos for ideas. Remember that once you have crystals glued on, they are on. There's no turning back, but you won't want to!

Motorola Razr K1, aka KRZR, Passes Muster

The FCC gave it a thumbs up anyway, and that counts for a lot, right?

Cosmetically, looks to me like it's basically the Razr V3 - still thin, but now narrower too, which is great for people with smaller paws like me. That V3 is just sometimes too wide for me, especially after adding the Swarovski crystals. :-)

The last Razr V3 I had got pretty scratched and dinged up a bit. So you know what I had to do with it. Yep, you guessed it, I crystallized it with a "bling kit" I ordered online. Razr was good as new afterwards. The nice thing about an old scuffed up phone is that I'm not afraid to get set aside an afternoon or two to bling it out on my own. I only had to redo a small part of it, otherwise it was pretty easy. Soon I'll write up something more about that whole experience. So stay TUNED!

And what's with the metallic blue? Is dark blue the new pink, (which was the new black)?

I guess they're trying to appeal to the broadest audience. Pink, black and silver just don't cut it anymore. Now with 50 million Razr's out there, I figure that's about enough for every adult in Australia and Canada combined to own one (July 2005 UN Population Estimates: 20M + 32M). Wow.

Question for you folks at home is, how many of that 50 mil get the custom kitty treatment like the one pictured here. It's a little to cutesy for my taste, but you know me, any crystal is better than naked!